Rich Gaspari is torn between Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney in his pick for greatest bodybuilder of all time.
Every sport has that iconic athlete dubbed the greatest of all time. Or at the very least, it has a small handful of select legends who are in contention for the GOAT. Bodybuilding is no different. Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are three names that often pop up at the top of the list. But who is truly the greatest of them all? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Rich Gaspari makes his pick for the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
Rich Gaspari has been involved with bodybuilding for essentially his whole life. He’s either competed or worked in the industry through multiple eras – and has some of the best insight into the long evolution of the sport. So we wanted to know who was his pick for greatest bodybuilder of all time. Rich Gaspari struggles at first – he’s torn between two athletes. Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney.
This should come as no surprise. Coleman and Haney are the only two bodybuilders to tie for the most amount of Olympia wins with eight trophies. They are often in competition during discussions of the greatest. For many, Ronnie ends up topping that battle – most likely due to his revolutionary size that changed the sport forever.
Rich Gaspari ultimately sides with the slightly more old school bodybuilder. Gaspari truly does take a moment to make his decision – as he understands the truly impressive wow factor of Ronnie Coleman in his prime. But at the end of the day, Gaspari decides on Lee Haney. Why? Because Lee Haney was an undisputed champ all eight Olympias. Ronnie Coleman’s later years were more controversial as his physique slightly declined. For Haney, there was never a question for each one of his wins.
Watch Rich Gaspari break down his pick for greatest bodybuilder of all time in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
